o re piya

"i didn't need to be a fish to enjoy and understand 'finding nemo'. so why do i need for my characters to be similar to my audience for them to be able to relate to the movie?"
- paraphrased from the late yasmin ahmad.

see if you can feel what this song is singing about,
without turning on the subtitles
it reverberated in my heart and ears,
long after the credits is shown.

pencils

pencils,
everytime it gives itself,
a part of itself is lost.
until it is too short to be used.

unlike pens,
that leave an empty shell.
clinging on to this world,
but it is useless,
and a nuisance,
to the environment too.

pencils,
used, sharpened,
too short, gone.
leaving no trace on this earth.

pencil.

i go

this hauntingly beautiful song is one of the songs that touched my heart and lingered in my ears after the movie. and "ore priya" too.

I Go - Pete Teo
So long, fare thee well
The dancer and the dancing days have taken leave and fell
So turn down this bed of stone
Quench me with the deadly nightshade from the rose that you belong

The long December rain is falling now
Running down on streets to nowhere
Music is my life – you’re my sweetest nightingale
But I can’t hear it here no more

And I go
I go

Hush now, don’t shake or break
Words have fallen silent like soldiers to the grave
No matter what they do or say
Lay me on the sleepy meadow by the tracks upon your face

letting "me" go

i posted this zen story before, and shall repost it here to remind myself, some of my friends and kids, who are going through some troubles in life.

sometimes, all we need to do is to take a step back and realise how transient "me", "face", "reputation" and "pride" is, and we will soon realise that the problem will be resolved. yes ris low, it's not all about "me"

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbours as one living a pure life.

A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she had a child.

This made her parents angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.

In great anger the parent went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.

After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbours and everything else he needed.

A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth - the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.

The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back.

Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: "Is that so?"


"our prophet once said, when they came back from defending the religion, with broken arms, no legs, bleeding, and they said 'we've been through, now, the toughest battle ever. what do you have to say about that?' and prophet (peace be upon him) said 'no no no. this is not your toughest battle. your toughest battle, is in here (points to heart). and that is to remove as much arrogance as you can, remove self-importance, step back, be nobody, so that you can become a part of something much much bigger' "
- the late yasmin ahmad, tedx kl

simplicity

sometimes we say a lot more with less. aren't it amazing what beauty a cycle of 9 notes can do?